Mechanical stoker.



vcr. A. CALDWELL.

MECHANICAL STOKBR. APPLICATION FILED AUG. 26, 1907.

Patented Apr. 13, 1909.

TH: Manara PETERS 6., wasulNarwN, n. c.

UNITED STA'I JOHN A. CALDWELL, OF MONTGLAIR, NEW JERSEY.

MECHANICAL STOKER.

To all 'whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN A. CALDWELL, a citizen of the United States,residing at Montclair, county of Essex, State of New Jersey, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Mechanical Stokers, ofwhich the following is a specification, reference being had therein tothe accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of thefuel hopper, ram compartment and shovel compartment of an automaticstoker showing a portion of the attached apparatus for operating theStoker; Fig. 2 a detail side elevation of the parts of the shovelcompartment; Fig. 3 a horizontal sectional view of the shovelcompartment showing the shovel shaft and shovel therein.

The main obj ect of this invention is to provide a simple means formounting or su porting the swinging shovel in the shovecompartment sothat the same may be easily removed from said compartment for repairs orfor any other purpose.

A further obj ect of the invention is to provide a new and improvedconstruction of shovel compartment.

Referring to the various arts by numerals, 1 designates the front wal ofthe furnace; 2 the fuel hopper; 3 the ram compartment which receives thefuel from the hopper; and 4 the shovel compartment in which is mountedthe swinging shovel by which the fuel is distributed in the furnace. Theram compartment is integral with the shovel compartment, and is formedwith an opening in its bottom through which the fuel is dropped into theshovel compartment.

In the ram com artment is slidably mounted the ram 5 w ich is actuatedby the lever 6 mounted on the rock shaft 7; said shaft beingintermittently driven to vibrate the ram. Any suitable means may beprovided for operating the shaft 7, but I prefer the mechanism shown inmy Reissue Patent No. 12, 598, dated January 22nd, 1907, and I do notconsider it necessary to illustrate in detail in this application theram-operating mechanism.

The shovel-shaft S extends horizontally across the shovel compartment,near the top thereof, and is mounted at one end in a bearing bracket 9secured to the front wall of the furnace or to the side of the shovelcompartment. This shaft extends through the side walls of the shovelcompartment, and rigidly Patented april is, 190e.

sensi No. 390,127.

secured to it within the compartment is the shovel 10 by means of whichthe fuel is thrown through thc fuel opening 11 in the front wall of thefurnace. shovel shaft outside of the shovel compartment is a forwardextending tappet 12. Mounted in suitable bearings and extending acrossthe front of the furnace, forward of the shovel compartment, is ashovel-actuating shaft 13 which carries tappet-engaging cams 11i adaptedto contact with the tappet 12 during the rotation of the shaft 13.Connected to the shovel shaft 3, on the opposite side of the shovelcompartment from the tappet, is a lever arm 15 to the free end of whichis connected a strong coil spring 16, the other end of said spring beingconnected to a stationary part of the furnace. The tappetengaging cams14 may be adjustable substantially as shown in my reissue patentheretofore referred to; and the operation of the parts of the Stokerdescribed is identical with the operation of the parts shown anddescribed in my said reissue patent.

To provide for theremoval of the shovel shaft and the attached shovelfrom the shovel compartment without disturbing the fuel hopper and theram compartment, I form the shovel compartment with a removable portion,said removable portion consisting of coincident parts of the verticalside walls of the shovel compartment and a con necting strip by whichsaid coincident parts are secured together, the removable portions ofthe side walls of the shovel compartment serving as means for holdingthe shovel shaft in its position.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the lower parts 18 of the side walls of theshovel compartment are made detachable, said detachable aortions beingconnected together at their lower ends by the bottom 19 of saidcompartment. rl`he bottom of the shovel compartment is curved on an arcof a circle struck from the center of the shovel shaft. The rear ends ofthe side walls 18 of the detachable part of the shovel compartment areextended inward and rearward beyond the bottom of the shovel compartmentand project downward, as shown clearly in Figs. 1 and 2 to form lockingfingers 20. rlhese fingers engage the lower wall 29a of the fuel openingand serve to hold said detachable portion in position at its lower end.The line of division between the lower part of the shovel compartmentand the upper part is Secured to the c on a curved line extending fromthe front portion of the shovel@ ompartment, slightly above the shovelshaft, through the center of the shovel shaft opening to the rear edgeof the bottom of the shovel compartment, as shown clearly in Fig. 2. Theo )ening for the shovel shaft is formed partly m the removable lower art18 of the shovel compartment, the ot 4er part being in the upperpermanent part of the shovel compartment. The vforward edge of thepermanent portion of vthe shovel compartment is formed with a downwardlyextending flange 2l which fits within the upper part of the removableportion of said compartment; and the upper edge of the front wall of thoremovable cornpa-rtment is secured to said depending flange by bolts 22.It will thus be seen that by removing the bolts 22 the lower portion ofthe shovel compartment, including the bottom thereof, may be detachedfrom the furnace front and freed from the shovel shaft, whereby saidshaft and its attached shovel may be easily removed.

While I have shown the ram compartment as vformed integral with theupper part of the shovel compartment, it will, of course, be understoodthat the two compartments may be separately made and then properlysecured together.

It will be readily understood from the foregoing that the shovel and itsshaft may be removed from the shovel compartment without disturbing therain compartment or the hopper mounted thereon.

Having thus described my invention, what I Claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. An automatic stoker comprising a shovel compartment having side wallsformed with permanent and removable sections, said walls being providedwith shovel shaft openings near the top thereof, the side walls of theshovel compartment being divided on a line extending from the upperforward edge thereof through the shovel shaft opening to the inner orrear edge of the bottom, the inner lower ends of the removable parts ofthe side walls of the compartment being formed with downwardly andinwardly extending fingers adapted to serve as hooks to engage apermanent part of the shovel compartment at the lower edge thereof, andmeans for connecting the forward edge of the permanent part of theshovel compartment at the forward upper end of the removable partthereof.

2. An automatic stoker comprising a ram compartment, a shovelcompartment below the same and in communication therewith, the sidewalls of the shovel compartment being formed with permanent andremovablesections and provided with shaft openings near their upperedges said walls being divided on a line extending from the forwardupper edge thereof through the shovel shaft opening to the inner or rearedge of the bottom, the removable lower sections of the side walls beingconnected by a transverse wall section, a horizontal shaft in the shovelconipartment and extending through the side walls thereof, a shovelsecured to said shaft within the shovel compartment, and means fordetachably connecting together the forward edge of the permanent part ofthe shovel compartment to the forward edge of the removable partthereof.

3. An automatic Stoker comprising a shovel compartment having side wallsformed of permanent and removable sections, said side walls beingdivided on the line extending from the upper edge thereof to the inneror rear edge of the bottom of said compartment, a bottom wall connectingtogether the removable portions of the side walls, means for connectingthe forward edge of the permanent part of the shovel. compartment to theforward upper end of the removable part thereof, a horizontal shovelshaft in said compartment, a shovel secured to said shovel shaft withinthe compartment, the removable section of the compartment serving tohold the shovel shaft in position.

ln testimony whereof l hereunto affix my signature in the presence oftwo witnesses this 26th day of July 1907,

WM. R. Davis, E. H. H. KAUFMANN.

